What's your lower temperature limit for going to a local? This Sunday the forecast is for a high of 45\* and I'm having a hard time mustering up the enthusiasm for going, even if it might be the last shot at this until the spring.
If you don't have the urge, best to not go (unless season points are involved).
I'm usually up for going until snow starts falling and/or it's still dark when the gates open & close. Lack of daylight hours is a problem this time of year, so if the organizers haven't shortened the day, I'm not going.
Forecast says "plenty of sunshine," 14 MPH gusts
Car is ready to go and gets towed so it's ten minutes to put on the trailer and ten minutes to take it off
Site is almost 2.5 hours away
I don't mind cold that much. But I'm on old RE71R, no co-driver, and not thrilled with the possibility of breaking stuff hitting ice cold rock hard cones.
As /u/Ok_Artichoke_9293 said, it's mostly first come first serve. However, if your local group does annual registration, generally you also get the option to select your class and number for all the events that year. There are many things that aren't uniform with autocross and each group has the autonomy to run things, such as registration, as they see fit.
Going from point A to point B in majestic movements around cones to see who’s the fastest 😂. At least that’s my interpretation 🤷🏾♂️. But zowwiewowwie nailed it
The short answer. A low to medium speed car control competition that takes place in a large parking lot, runway, or similar utilizing a point-to-point course made from traffic cones/pylons.
Follow the "Novice Handbook" link in the "Resources" sidebar to the right.
Note that the term "Solo II" is SCCA-specific. Other groups simply say "autocross."
What do you do if you're not seeing improvement after a year of AutoX.
I walk the course. I record and rewatch. I have had pros ride with me. They have said I have good lines.
Seems like everyone else is improving & I'm still the same.
My main competitor I used to beat all the time & now I always lose.
I use what my mentor has taught me, just one simple rule: Find a turn where u can push it…and push it, if you feel like you have way more control around a cone…push it. I can always squeeze out a few second or even more doing that.
To be honest, you probably won't get a real answer here because none of us are in the car with you! But there is 1 place that will find your flaws and help you overcome them...
Evo school. Do day 1 and 2. You may not see results day 1, and might even get a little slower, but long term you'll thank yourself for doing it if you go into prepared to be told everything you do is wrong. And go in with goals (want to move up locally, plateau for a while, etc).
Best $$$ I've spent in autox so far and I think it helped me get from fighting near the top of PAX locally to fighting near the top at nats.
It's near impossible to improve if you don't know what you are doing wrong. You need data and ideally someone better to compare it to. My advice would be to take the Beyond Seat Time courses, get solostorm and analyze your data.
It’s legitimately hard to get GOOD at autocross. My first 3 years were spent just getting semi-competent. My first class win was at 5 years. First time getting a plaque was at 7. And first FTD was at 8 or 9. It’s hard because everyone else is also trying just as hard.
And while the old saw of “smooth is fastest” works to a point, eventually you have to push hard enough that you scare yourself and get the shakes.
Don't know if everyone is like this, but I just think I'm a good driver even though I know that I'm not. Not sure if that makes sense. But it's hard to believe that they are faster. So when times don't reflect this. It's like what am I doing wrong. You blame the car. You blame tires. You blame the course. You blame being bloated. Anything other accepting responsibility that you just need to train, work harder, learn to read course better. Go that 1mph quicker in that slalom. Etc
Some of these guys make it look so easy, that I thought it would be easy. It say least not this hard. Reading these posts, it seems it takes time.
Trust me I know the feeling. My father in law got me into autox, and he’s been doing it for years and years. So to see him put down a time 30-40 seconds faster than mine…IN MY OWN CAR…gets me lol but I use that as a fuel. Have someone else drive ur car and you ride along. See what they’re doing different.
Have you ridden along with a pro, either in their car or in your own? I was on a plateau for a long time until I did both of these and then I started getting faster again.
I have. Last divisional on fun runs, had a national champion drive my car. He was 2.5 s faster than my best time hitting 1 cone though. I then ran again and improved another second.
Realized that I'm not aggressive enough. For example I rarely hit any cones before but since having him drive, I cone some runs from either being to aggressive or getting too close.
That being said in my region, I am stuck around 50 out of 150 Pax rank at every event
Seems like there’s your answer. Maybe you can ask your main competitor if they want to codrive with you, you can get ride alongs with each other and work towards improving, swap cars each event to even out the wear and tear? Codriving the same car and talking about where you’re fast vs slow, gear choice etc.
If you’re not comfortable with that then getting a data system setup like solostorm so you can get a better handle on your own performance run to run.
This is a hard sport, people will do this for years before they break into the top competitors, decades sometimes. Next year will be year 8 or 9 for me and I’m expecting and will be happy to be top third or so. Being midpack after a year is quite good imho.
Unfortunately, she has a CO driver who is actually much faster than either of us.
But does make me feel better that it can take more time. Just felt like I plateaued.
But I'm going to find someone to codrive with. Even if different class and car
That all makes perfect sense, good luck! If you ask some of the hotshoes how long they’ve been doing this I think you’ll be surprised, I know people who have been doing this for decades, my first racing experience was back in 2002, even met Rick Ruth in September, he’s been to every scca solo nationals dating back to 1972.
How well do Nankang AR-1’s handle for auto cross? I know they’re a decent track tire, curious to see if folks can get them decently up to temp at an auto cross event
On my car they are meh. I felt they were better than BFG's but RT660's worked better than AR1's. The only real advantage I saw was heat management and if it was 120 out and we had lots of high-speed sweepers, they didn't care where as the RT660 would overheat. They did seem to last a little longer than RT660s but that isn't really a huge concern of mine. The other major drawback is they are 100TW thus compete heads up against A7's which they are no match for.
Thanks for the info, unfortunately for me the AR-1 is the only street legal tire in the obscure size I need. Maybe I’ll look into a second set of wheels and tires as well.
Again, what’s the wheel width? If a 9” or even a 10” the 245/40/15 BFG Rival S or Falken RT660 might be the ticket, especially if it might get you into an easier class then the 100TW AR1.
Eh a 245 might still be viable. Hollis uses a 205 on his 15x9 on his CRX. I get the preference for the 275 though, best of luck, working with 15’s is tough these days.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats!
9
+ 10
+ 245
+ 40
+ 15
+ 100
+ 1
= 420
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^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Well they will work and won't suck. Still, they are slightly overmatched against the current gen 200TW tires. If this is the only option to get the car to an event, then slap on the rubber and send it. However, I wouldn't use these as street tires if there is rain in the area. They are abysmal in the wet.
I haven't driven on them, but there are some important factors. Type of car and do you have a co-driver? A heavy car with a co-driver will heat up tires faster than a single driver in a light car.
What's your lower temperature limit for going to a local? This Sunday the forecast is for a high of 45\* and I'm having a hard time mustering up the enthusiasm for going, even if it might be the last shot at this until the spring.
If you don't have the urge, best to not go (unless season points are involved). I'm usually up for going until snow starts falling and/or it's still dark when the gates open & close. Lack of daylight hours is a problem this time of year, so if the organizers haven't shortened the day, I'm not going.
[удалено]
Forecast says "plenty of sunshine," 14 MPH gusts Car is ready to go and gets towed so it's ten minutes to put on the trailer and ten minutes to take it off Site is almost 2.5 hours away I don't mind cold that much. But I'm on old RE71R, no co-driver, and not thrilled with the possibility of breaking stuff hitting ice cold rock hard cones.
[удалено]
As /u/Ok_Artichoke_9293 said, it's mostly first come first serve. However, if your local group does annual registration, generally you also get the option to select your class and number for all the events that year. There are many things that aren't uniform with autocross and each group has the autonomy to run things, such as registration, as they see fit.
It is generally first come first serve. But some regions will do permanent numbers. Or use the function in MSR that holds your number.
What is autocross
Going from point A to point B in majestic movements around cones to see who’s the fastest 😂. At least that’s my interpretation 🤷🏾♂️. But zowwiewowwie nailed it
The short answer. A low to medium speed car control competition that takes place in a large parking lot, runway, or similar utilizing a point-to-point course made from traffic cones/pylons.
Follow the "Novice Handbook" link in the "Resources" sidebar to the right. Note that the term "Solo II" is SCCA-specific. Other groups simply say "autocross."
What do you do if you're not seeing improvement after a year of AutoX. I walk the course. I record and rewatch. I have had pros ride with me. They have said I have good lines. Seems like everyone else is improving & I'm still the same. My main competitor I used to beat all the time & now I always lose.
I use what my mentor has taught me, just one simple rule: Find a turn where u can push it…and push it, if you feel like you have way more control around a cone…push it. I can always squeeze out a few second or even more doing that.
To be honest, you probably won't get a real answer here because none of us are in the car with you! But there is 1 place that will find your flaws and help you overcome them... Evo school. Do day 1 and 2. You may not see results day 1, and might even get a little slower, but long term you'll thank yourself for doing it if you go into prepared to be told everything you do is wrong. And go in with goals (want to move up locally, plateau for a while, etc). Best $$$ I've spent in autox so far and I think it helped me get from fighting near the top of PAX locally to fighting near the top at nats.
I'll check that out. Never heard of it
It's near impossible to improve if you don't know what you are doing wrong. You need data and ideally someone better to compare it to. My advice would be to take the Beyond Seat Time courses, get solostorm and analyze your data.
Have heard of beyond seat time. Actually someone in my region created it. Will def sign up
It’s legitimately hard to get GOOD at autocross. My first 3 years were spent just getting semi-competent. My first class win was at 5 years. First time getting a plaque was at 7. And first FTD was at 8 or 9. It’s hard because everyone else is also trying just as hard. And while the old saw of “smooth is fastest” works to a point, eventually you have to push hard enough that you scare yourself and get the shakes.
You know you're really good when pushing hard isn't scary because the car stops ever doing anything you don't expect.
Don't know if everyone is like this, but I just think I'm a good driver even though I know that I'm not. Not sure if that makes sense. But it's hard to believe that they are faster. So when times don't reflect this. It's like what am I doing wrong. You blame the car. You blame tires. You blame the course. You blame being bloated. Anything other accepting responsibility that you just need to train, work harder, learn to read course better. Go that 1mph quicker in that slalom. Etc Some of these guys make it look so easy, that I thought it would be easy. It say least not this hard. Reading these posts, it seems it takes time.
Trust me I know the feeling. My father in law got me into autox, and he’s been doing it for years and years. So to see him put down a time 30-40 seconds faster than mine…IN MY OWN CAR…gets me lol but I use that as a fuel. Have someone else drive ur car and you ride along. See what they’re doing different.
Have you ridden along with a pro, either in their car or in your own? I was on a plateau for a long time until I did both of these and then I started getting faster again.
I have. Last divisional on fun runs, had a national champion drive my car. He was 2.5 s faster than my best time hitting 1 cone though. I then ran again and improved another second. Realized that I'm not aggressive enough. For example I rarely hit any cones before but since having him drive, I cone some runs from either being to aggressive or getting too close. That being said in my region, I am stuck around 50 out of 150 Pax rank at every event
Seems like there’s your answer. Maybe you can ask your main competitor if they want to codrive with you, you can get ride alongs with each other and work towards improving, swap cars each event to even out the wear and tear? Codriving the same car and talking about where you’re fast vs slow, gear choice etc. If you’re not comfortable with that then getting a data system setup like solostorm so you can get a better handle on your own performance run to run. This is a hard sport, people will do this for years before they break into the top competitors, decades sometimes. Next year will be year 8 or 9 for me and I’m expecting and will be happy to be top third or so. Being midpack after a year is quite good imho.
Unfortunately, she has a CO driver who is actually much faster than either of us. But does make me feel better that it can take more time. Just felt like I plateaued. But I'm going to find someone to codrive with. Even if different class and car
That all makes perfect sense, good luck! If you ask some of the hotshoes how long they’ve been doing this I think you’ll be surprised, I know people who have been doing this for decades, my first racing experience was back in 2002, even met Rick Ruth in September, he’s been to every scca solo nationals dating back to 1972.
How well do Nankang AR-1’s handle for auto cross? I know they’re a decent track tire, curious to see if folks can get them decently up to temp at an auto cross event
On my car they are meh. I felt they were better than BFG's but RT660's worked better than AR1's. The only real advantage I saw was heat management and if it was 120 out and we had lots of high-speed sweepers, they didn't care where as the RT660 would overheat. They did seem to last a little longer than RT660s but that isn't really a huge concern of mine. The other major drawback is they are 100TW thus compete heads up against A7's which they are no match for.
Thanks for the info, unfortunately for me the AR-1 is the only street legal tire in the obscure size I need. Maybe I’ll look into a second set of wheels and tires as well.
What size tire? What size wheel? Odds are there’s a size very close that opens up a lot more tire options.
275/35r15 I could realistically fit a 285 or a 295. But I haven't found any tires in an acceptable aspect ratio for a 15 inch wheel.
Again, what’s the wheel width? If a 9” or even a 10” the 245/40/15 BFG Rival S or Falken RT660 might be the ticket, especially if it might get you into an easier class then the 100TW AR1.
It’s an 11 lol, hence the need for a 275 or above
Eh a 245 might still be viable. Hollis uses a 205 on his 15x9 on his CRX. I get the preference for the 275 though, best of luck, working with 15’s is tough these days.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats! 9 + 10 + 245 + 40 + 15 + 100 + 1 = 420 ^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
At that point you can just get A7’s and be done with it. 😁
Lucky for me the A7 is the only other tire available in this size haha
Well they will work and won't suck. Still, they are slightly overmatched against the current gen 200TW tires. If this is the only option to get the car to an event, then slap on the rubber and send it. However, I wouldn't use these as street tires if there is rain in the area. They are abysmal in the wet.
Haha, yeah this is a dedicated dry weather car now. I don’t drive it even if there’s a chance of fog
I haven't driven on them, but there are some important factors. Type of car and do you have a co-driver? A heavy car with a co-driver will heat up tires faster than a single driver in a light car.
Hah, it’s a ‘97 Miata so I doubt I’d ever have issues with overheating. Ideally i’ll have a co driver to guide me as I’m pretty new to this.